DICE: "Elevators Were Never Designed to Act as a Catapult"

Some "beta" versions of upcoming games are little more than time-limited multiplayer demos, effectively consisting of a small chunk of the finished game. Others, like the Battlefield 4 beta, are a good opportunity for developers to see how people play the game in a real context -- inevitably spotting some weird bugs in the process.

Bugs like this popular and amusing one, for example.

Wheeeeee!

"Although an interesting concept, elevators were never designed to act as a catapult or teleporter," wrote DICE's Vincent Vukovic in a dev blog post yesterday. "The bug where the elevator button would catapult you up into the air is fixed for the final game. But we did enjoy all the crazy videos you've posted. Thanks!"

Aside from crazy glitches like the aforementioned elevator bug, Battlefield 4's beta has also enabled DICE to optimize performance, balance and the player experience based on fan feedback.

The PC version has seen the most performance tweaks, specifically with regard to improving the frame rate and attempting to minimize skyrocketing CPU usage during play. Crash reports and other information gathered during the beta have helped DICE to optimize the PC version as much as possible ahead of the final game's release. "This was a true beta," wrote Vukovic, "and as such all crash reports that were generated during this period will actually help us make a better game."

Console players will be able to enjoy additional controller options in the final game, including a "Veteran" layout closely modelled after Battlefield 3's controller setup. The server browser has also had some filters and a Quick Match option applied to make it easier to find a game with players actually in it.

DICE has also been rebalancing the game based on player feedback, with changes ranging from an increase throw distance on portable ammo and med packs to increasing the muzzle flash of certain weapons to make them more obvious threats. Vehicles and weaponry have been tweaked, too; guided missiles are now faster so they can catch up with fast vehicles such as quad bikes, for example, and a series of different control options have been added for vehicles on all platforms.

The Battlefield 4 beta is now over, and DICE is gearing up for the launch of the full game on October 29. If you pre-order the game, you'll get a copy of the four-map China Rising expansion pack for free. Find out more on the official site.

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I hope this is the last 'Battlefield' for a while, and that the next will be a Bad Company game. I enjoyed BC2 so much more than BF3, and this looks to be in much the same vein.Edited October 2013 by monty_79